ST LOUIS: HITTING: Alienate and trade your talented young centerfielder for bullpen scraps and a middling, impending free-agent starter. Justify your ludicrous pitching changes by blaming crowd noise and your innocent bullpen coach'and you too could win a World Series! This was Tony La Russa baseball. But he's gone now, as is the all-world Albert Pujols. SS RAFAEL FURCAL liked his short stint in the Show Me State enough to sign up for more. OF CARLOS BELTRAN will hit second after an impressive 2011 campaign during which he produced solid numbers in pitchers' parks amidst weak lineups. 2Bs TYLER GREENE and DANIEL DESCALSO are the latest plucky 'gamer' to play infield at Busch. Resuscitated slugger 1B LANCE BERKMAN shifts to a much more suitable defensive position. OF MATT HOLLIDAY's OPS remains as strong as ever. 3B DAVID FREESE will never have to buy a drink in Missouri again after his postseason heroics. C YADIER MOLINA is a defensive whiz behind the plate and an underrated hitter. OFs ALLEN CRAIG and JON JAY are more suited to platoon roles, but Jay will be starting in center on Opening Day. STARTING PITCHING: His stuff isn't nearly what it used to be, and he's more than earned his reputation within the game as a towering crybaby. But on the mound, CHRIS CARPENTER remains ruthlessly effective when he's healthy. But he'll miss the first couple of months of the 2012 campaign due to shoulder problems. ADAM WAINWRIGHT should be ready to go on Opening Day, and has shown every reason to think he'll be his old brilliant self. JAIME GARCIA cannot sustain a sub-2.00 ERA for a full season. He's a mid-rotation starter, but one of the better ones in all of baseball. Did KYLE LOHSE really register a 1.17 WHIP over an entire season? Really? He just doesn't miss enough bats to keep that going. JAKE WESTBROOK stayed healthy for a full season again, which is a relief given his past dalliances with the DL. He's an innings eater who's capable of another dozen wins. LANCE LYNN gives the Cardinals enviable depth in the rotation. He'll probably slide back to the bullpen once Carpenter returns. Uber-prospect SHELBY MILLER could be a second-half call-up. RELIEF PITCHING: It doesn't look pretty when JASON MOTTE winds up and delivers a pitch, but in the end, results are results. The converted catcher has finally nailed down the closer role that many predicted would be his a few years ago. The only way he loses it this time is if he hurts himself with that painful delivery. FERNANDO SALAS can more than hold his own if that happens. He'll slot into the eighth-inning role, but he provides more of the pitching depth that is a hallmark of this Cardinals team. KYLE McCLELLAN, like Lynn, is serviceable both in relief or in the rotation. But he's better in the former role.

SAN DIEGO: HITTING: This was by far the worst lineup in the National League in runs (3.66 per game), HR (91), and OPS (.653). 1B JESUS GUZMAN had 44 RBI in just 247 at-bats thanks to a 1.094 OPS with RISP. 1B YONDER ALONSO, the key piece of the Mat Latos trade, will play first every day, moving Guzman to a back-up role. OF CAMERON MAYBIN used his speed to steal 40 bases and score 82 runs. OF CARLOS QUENTIN was acquired from the White Sox and will provide much-needed power in the middle of the batting order when he returns to the field sometime in late April/early May after having knee surgery. Slugger KYLE BLANKS will fill the void. In 420 career at-bats, he has 20 homers, but also has a .219 BA and 152 strikeouts. SS JASON BARTLETT had a disappointing first season in San Diego, hitting only two home runs in 554 at-bats and posting a pathetic .615 OPS as the team's No. 2 hitter in the lineup. Mediocre OF WILL VENABLE (.705 OPS) would not start for any other team in the majors. 3B CHASE HEADLEY batted .289 with a .374 OBP, but failed to provide any power from the three-hole. Oft-injured C NICK HUNDLEY had an .824 OPS and 9 HR in half a season. SS ORLANDO HUDSON batted just .246 with 92 strikeouts and just 31 walks. STARTING PITCHING: This young staff finished sixth in the majors with a 3.62 ERA. TIM STAUFFER struggled to pitch outside of spacious Petco Park, posting a 4.95 ERA and 1.39 WHIP on the road (2.57 ERA, 1.13 WHIP at home). Two starters both underwent surgery on their throwing shoulders last summer, but are expected to be ready for the start of the season. Lefty CLAYTON RICHARD had just 53 K and 38 BB in 99.2 innings, but he posted a strong 2.30 ERA and 1.11 WHIP at home last year. The 2011 campaign was the year to judge whether EDINSON VOLQUEZ was all the way back from major arm surgery. Well, the jury's in and the verdict isn't kind. The move to San Diego can only cure so much. Right-hander DUSTIN MOSELEY enjoyed his first season in the NL, posting career-best marks in ERA (3.30) and WHIP (1.28). But like Richard, his 64 K and 36 BB in 120 innings were unimpressive. CORY LUEBKE began 2011 in the bullpen, but was moved the rotation, which is where he'll stay in 2012. In 17 starts last year, he shined with a 3.31 ERA and 111 K in 100.2 IP. RELIEF PITCHING: For the first time since 2008, somebody other than Heath Bell will close games for the Padres. HUSTON STREET will certainly benefit from the move to hitter haven Coors Field to pitcher-friendly Petco Park. Street had a 4.20 home ERA in three seasons in Colorado, while posting a stellar 2.59 ERA on the road. If Street gets hurt, the two leading candidates for the closer role are LUKE GREGERSON and ERNESTO FRIERI. Gregerson is the more consistent pitcher of the two, but Frieri throws harder than Gregerson and has a stellar 11.1 strikeout rate in his three-year career.

Even without his best stuff, Shelby Miller managed to keep a modest scoreless innings streak alive.

The St. Louis Cardinals rookie enters with 14 2-3 scoreless innings heading into Monday night's road matchup with Jason Marquis, who has won four straight starts for the San Diego Padres.

Miller (5-2, 1.40 ERA) is tied for the majors' lowest ERA with the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw. He did not get a decision for the first time Wednesday, throwing 96 pitches over 5 2-3 innings in a 4-2 victory over the Mets.

"It's not always going to be smooth," he said. "I got away with some mistakes."

That effort came after the 22-year-old right-hander struck out a season-high 13 in a one-hitter May 10 in a 3-0 win over Colorado.

This will be his first start against the Padres, who were the only team to score against him in Miller's six 2012 appearances. He allowed two runs over three innings Sept. 10 in his first road game.

Marquis (5-2, 3.49), making a bid to win five straight outings for the first time since April 16-May 9, 2007, with the Cubs, has posted a 2.45 ERA during his win streak.

The veteran right-hander has only faced four St. Louis hitters who are currently available. Ty Wigginton, who rarely starts, is 9 for 24 against the former Cardinals starter.

St. Louis (28-15), beginning an eight-game trip with this three-game set, is a major league-best 24-10 against right-handed starters.

These clubs are meeting for the first time since splitting six 2012 matchups, with the home team winning every time. San Diego (20-23) scored 20 runs in its Sept. 10-12 sweep.

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina has thrown out seven of 20 runners attempting to steal when he's been behind the plate. He will be up against a Padres club that leads the majors with 38 steals.

San Diego stole a season-high five bases in Sunday's 13-4 win over Washington. Everth Cabrera had three to take his major league-leading total to 18 in 22 attempts, with seven coming over his last five contests.

The Padres have homered eight times and scored 33 runs in winning four of six. Jedd Gyorko is 9 for 22 in that span and Yonder Alonso is 8 for 21 with homers in consecutive games.

"We're swinging really good right now and we're seeing the ball so good right now," Cabrera said. "It feels great. I'm happy."

St. Louis has won 14 of 18, featuring five hitters with at least 20 RBIs along with a rotation that leads the majors with a 2.63 ERA.

"When you're a St. Louis Cardinal, you expect stuff like this," third baseman David Freese told the Cardinals' official website. "The front office puts guys on the field and great guys in the clubhouse. It's a good recipe with Mike (manager Mike Matheny) leading us."